February 12, 2018

There are a lot of rumours going around the place about our Listen Again lecture capture service. It was one of the first in the country to be rolled out across the whole University and set up to automatically record lectures without any lecturer involvement, however, some lecturers were and still are understandably concerned about what this means for their teaching practice. To put your mind at ease, here are some myths busted about Listen Again:

Listen Again causes low attendance – Myth
There have been numerous studies[1] into the impact of lecture capture on student attendance. The broad conclusion is that there is a negligible correlation between the two; with low attendance often caused by other factors. Studies tend to show that lecture recordings have a slightly positive impact on student achievement.In 2017, a Task and Finish Group on inclusivity concluded that lecture capture had no impact on attendance.

I have more control if students use their own devices to record a lecture – Myth
Recordings made by Listen Again are stored on-campus and are only made available to the audience(s) you dictate. You can request that we destroy these recordings at any time. Additionally, we warn students that any unauthorised redistribution of recordings is considered an academic offence, and track which students have accessed which recordings.If a student makes a recording on their own device, we do not have similar safeguards in place. We have no control over how personal recordings are subsequently used, where they are published, and the context in which they are presented.

Lecture recordings can be used against me – Myth
Recordings are only shared with the audience(s) that you have chosen when changing your recording preference. Recordings are never shared with HR or line managers within a department and are never used for performance management.

Students can view my recordings as soon as the teaching event finishes – Myth
Listen Again gives you 24 hours exclusive access to a recording before it is released to students. You can use this time to edit a recording or request its removal from Listen Again.